Pope Francis urges dialogue as he begins South Korea visit

Pope Francis urged dialogue between the two Koreas instead of "displays of force" at the start of his five-day visit to South Korea.

The Pope's call for peace came hours after North Korea fired short-range rockets around the time of his arrival.

It is his first visit to Asia since he became pope in March 2013.

Pope Francis will beatify Korean Catholics who died for their faith, attend a Catholic youth festival and conduct a "reconciliation" mass.

In a speech addressed to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and senior officials, the Pope said reconciliation on the Korean peninsula had implications for "the stability of the entire area and indeed of the whole war-weary world".

"Diplomacy... is based on the firm and persevering conviction that peace can be won through quiet listening and dialogue, rather than by mutual recriminations, fruitless criticisms and displays of force," he said.

He also called on Koreans to set an example for future generations. "I think it is especially important for us to reflect on the need to give our young people the gift of peace," he said.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired three rockets off its east coast as the Pope's plane approached South Korean airspace. It fired another two in the afternoon.

Pyongyang has engaged in several such launches in recent months in what it says is a response to US and South Korean provocations - in the latest case, a military drill due to start on Monday.

No North Koreans

The Pope is spending five days in South Korea, where the Catholic Church is growing. It currently has just over 5.4 million members, some 10.4% of the population.

President Park Geun-hye greeted the pontiff on his arrival in South Korea
Preparations are under way at Gwanghwamun Square for the papal mass

Pope Francis will pay tribute to some of South Korea's first Catholics when he beatifies 124 Koreans who died in the 18th and 19th Centuries. After an individual is beatified, he or she is given the title "blessed".

The ceremony will be held on Saturday at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, with up to one million people expected to attend.

The pontiff is also attending Asian Youth Day, a festival for young Catholics from across the region, and will meet students who survived the Sewol ferry disaster.

On the last day of his visit, on Monday, the Pope plans to hold a "reconciliation" mass in the Myeong-dong cathedral in Seoul.

He will deliver a message of peace for the divided Koreas and East Asia, according to Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea rejected an invitation by the Archdiocese of Seoul for 10 North Korean Catholics to attend the final mass, South Korean officials say.

She added that China was "willing to continue making efforts with the Vatican to advance constructive dialogue and promote the process of improving bilateral relations".

The Vatican has no official ties with Beijing. The last time a pope visited the region, he had to avoid Chinese air space.

But in what a Church spokesman has called "a sign of detente", the papal plane was given permission to use Chinese air space.

More than 100 Chinese people were due to attend Asian Youth Day, but about half were unable to attend due to "a complicated situation inside China", said a spokesman for a committee organising the Pope's visit.